Attic vent

ABSTRACT

An attic vent has a barricade wall fitting around a rain cover. A screen covers an open end of the barricade wall. A number of holes are placed in a side of the barricade wall.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present invention claims priority on provisional patent application,Ser. No. 60/650,385, filed on Feb. 4, 2005, entitled “Snow Blocker AtticVent” and is hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of roof devices andmore particularly to an attic vent.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Attic vents are common in houses to allow hot air to vent from the houseto the outside. The vents include a cover to prevent rain from enteringthe vent hole. The cover has openings between the roof and the coverthat allow the gases to vent from the house. Unfortunately, a winddriven snowstorm can result in snow entering through the openings andgetting into the attic. When this snow melts it can cause extensivewater damage to the interior dwelling. Present vents also permitsquirrels and other small animals access to the attic. These animals canalso cause extensive damages to the house.

Thus there exists a need for an improved attic vent that does not allowsnow to enter the attic and prevents small animals from entering thehouse.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An attic vent that overcomes these and other problems has a barricadewall fitting around a standard attic vent. A screen covers an open endof the barricade wall. A number of holes may be placed in a side of thebarricade wall. A shielding may be fitted around the standard atticvent. The barricade wall may sit on the shielding. The barricade walland screen may be made of metal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the attic vent in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the attic vent in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a shielding in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is directed to an improved attic vent thatprevents snow from entering the attic and prevents small animals fromentering the house and causing damage to the house. The attic vent has abarricade wall that blocks snow from entering the openings in the raincover. A screen over the top of the barricade wall prevents smallanimals from entering into the opening of the rain cover and allows airto enter the opening in the rain cover.

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the attic vent 10 in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention. The attic vent 10 includes a barricade wall12. A screen 14 fits into an opening 15 of the barricade wall 12. A raincover 16 fits over the vent hole 18 and has openings 20 that allow airto vent out of the attic. A sleeve 22 sits on a lip 24 of a shielding26.

The shielding 26 sits on a roof of the house and has an opening thatfits over the vent hole 18. The lip 24 of the shielding 26 holds thesleeve 22. The sleeve acts as a barrier for snow of small animals. Thesleeve 22 is not as tall as the rain cover 16. The rain cover 16 in thisembodiment is rectangular and has a number of feet 28 that attached tothe shielding 26 by screws, bolts or other attachment devices. The feet28 are taller than the open box of the cover 16. As a result, fouropenings 20 are formed that allow air to pass out of the vent hole andthrough the openings 20. The barricade wall 12 is larger than the raincover 16 and forms a wall around the openings 20 so that snow cannotjust blow into the openings and from there into the attic. The barricadewall 12 has a lip 30 that forms a better seal with the shielding 26 andmay be used to attach the barricade wall to the shielding 26. The top ofthe barricade wall 12 has a interior facing lip 32. A screen 14 fits upagainst the lip 32 and may be affixed to the lip 32. The screen preventssmall animals from entering into the attic.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the attic vent 10 in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention. This figure shows the assembled orinstalled attic vent. The only parts that are visible are the barricadewall 12, screen 14 and the shielding 26. Also shown in the figure areholes 34 in a portion of the barricade wall 12. These holes 34 allowsnow or rain that enters the screen 14 to escape and roll off the roof.Thus the attic vent shown herein prevents snow and small animals fromentering an attic of a house.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a shielding 26 in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention. The shielding 26 has an opening 18 thatfits over the vent hole. The opening 18 has a lip 24 that protrudes fromthe plane of the shielding 26.

In one embodiment, all parts of the attic vent may be made of sheetmetal and the screen made of metal. In another embodiment, the atticvent parts are made of a plastic.

In another embodiment, the attic vent is a retrofit over existing atticvents. An existing attic vent would look similar to the rain cover 16.The other parts are then installed around the existing rain vent.

While the invention has been described in conjunction with specificembodiments thereof, it is evident that many alterations, modifications,and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light ofthe foregoing description. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace allsuch alterations, modifications, and variations in the appended claims.

1. An attic vent comprising, a barricade wall fitting around a standardattic vent; and a screen covering an open end of the barricade wall. 2.The attic vent of claim 1, further including a plurality of holes in aside of the barricade wall.
 3. The attic vent of claim 1, furtherincluding a shielding fitting around the standard attic vent.
 4. Theattic vent of claim 3, wherein the barricade wall sits on the shielding.5. The attic vent of claim 1, wherein the barricade wall is made ofsheet metal.
 6. The attic vent of claim 1, wherein the screen is a metalscreen.
 7. An attic vent comprising, a rain cap covering a vent tube;and a barricade wall fitting around the rain cap.
 8. The attic vent ofclaim 7, further including a screen covering an open end of thebarricade wall.
 9. The attic vent of claim 8, further including aplurality of vent holes in a portion of the barricade wall.
 10. Theattic vent of claim 8, further including a sleeve attached to the venttube.
 11. The attic vent of claim 8, further including a shielding basefitting around the vent tube.
 12. The attic vent of claim 11, whereinthe shielding base has a cutout of the vent tube.
 13. The attic vent ofclaim 12, wherein the shielding base includes a lip around the cutout.14. The attic vent of claim 13, wherein a sleeve mates with the lip. 15.An attic vent comprising, a rain cap covering a vent tube; a barricadewall fitting around the rain cap; and a screen covering an open end ofthe barricade wall.
 16. The attic vent of claim 15, further including aplurality of vent holes in a portion of the barricade wall.
 17. Theattic vent of claim 15, further including a shielding base fittingaround the vent tube.
 18. The attic vent of claim 17, wherein theshielding base has a cutout of the vent tube.
 19. The attic vent ofclaim 18, wherein the shielding base includes a lip around the cutout.20. The attic vent of claim 19, wherein a sleeve mates with the lip.